1.Thesettingupofnumerousrecyclingsitesandthepro-motionoftheconceptofrecyclingtothepublic(envi-ronmentaleducation).
2.Restrictionsontheuseofdisposabledishes,andencour-agementofthepublictodevelopthehabitof‘‘wastenot,wantnot’’topromotewastereductionandrecy-cling(environmentaleducation).
3.Collectingrecyclingfeesfrombusinessesandapplyingthemtocallattentiontorecyclingwork(EPR).
4.Mandatingthatwaste-collectioncrewsofthelocalgov-ernmentperformwasterecyclingandreductionwork(C&C).
5.Mandatingpublicparticipationinrecyclingandrefusingtocollectwastefromthosewhodonotcooperateinsortingandrecycling(C&C).
3.3.Mandatorywasterecyclingbylaw
Thelocalgovernmentissuedo cialannouncementstofollowmandatorywasterecyclingaccordingtotheWasteDisposalAct.TheActrequiredthepublictotakeitsrecy-clablewastetowaste-collectioncrewsorscrapprocessors.InaccordancewithArticle23,Paragraph2oftheWasteDisposalAct,peoplewhothrewoutrecyclablewastewithgeneralwastewouldbe nedNT$1200–6000(US$1=NT$32),andthewaste-collectioncrewscouldalsorefusetoacceptthesemixedwastes.
TheTEPAoncemorerevisedthemandatoryrecyclingsystemoftheWasteDisposalAct.Newamendmentsmadeitmandatoryforwaste-collectioncrewstorecycle12gen-eralwasteitems.Thewaste-collectioncrewswererequiredtosorttheserecyclableitemsandwereprohibitedfromdis-posingtheseitemswithgeneralwaste(seenextsection).Theearningsfromrecyclingwerethenusedtorewardtheorganizationgroups,communities,andcollectioncrewswhichpromotedtherecyclingprogram.TheprincipleofrewardsandpunishmentwastoencouragethepublictoparticipateintheimplementationoftheMSWsortingandrecyclingactivities.
Table6
WastereductionandrecyclinginTaiwan(TEPA,2003)Year
Totalrecycling(tons)
Recyclingbylocalgovernmentwaste-collectioncrews(tons)Totalrecyclingrate(%)
Recyclingratebylocalgovernmentwaste-collectioncrews(%)TotalMSWquantity(tons)DailypercapitaMSW(kg)
1996–––––1.135
1997–
106,201––
8,880,7791.143
1998426,793129,1554.591.25
8,880,4871.135
1999637,351215,8646.881.94
8,565,7001.082
2000855,675477,8569.785.75
7,880,6370.977
20011,055,055584,33012.727.47
7,258,2360.893
2002––15.50–
6,764,9680.806
666L.-T.Luetal./WasteManagement26(2006)661–667
Table7
SummarizingtheenvironmentalmanagementtoolsduringthevariousstagesofMSWmanagementinTaiwanPeriod
MSWrapidgrowthperiod(1981–1989)
EnvironmentalmanagementtoolsValuablewasteisrecycledthroughmarketmechanisms;noenvironmentaltoolsimplemented(scrapcollectionsystem)Extendedproducerresponsibility(scrapcollectionsystem)
Recyclingenvironmentaleducation
ExtendedproducerresponsibilityRecyclingenvironmentaleducationCommandandcontrol
Mandatoryrecyclingbypublic
MandatoryrecyclingbywastecollectioncrewsExtendedproducerresponsibilityRecyclingenvironmentaleducationCommandandcontrol
PlasticbaguserestrictionprogramMandatoryrecyclingbypublic
MandatoryrecyclingbywastecollectioncrewsMandatorykitchenwasterecyclingEconomicincentive
Volume-basedcollectionfeesystem
Achievements
None;MSWvolumegrowsbyaverageof4.7%annually
Firstrecyclingperiod(1990–1997)
AverageannualgrowthrateforMSWdropsto3%MSWvolumedeclinesby30%;dailypercapitavolumefallsfrom1.143kgin1997to0.806kgin2002.
Secondrecyclingperiod(1998–2002)
MSWzero-wasteperiod(2003–2020)
Forecasted70%reductioninMSWvolumefrom1998to2020.
6.Settinguprestrictionsontheuseofplasticbags(C&C).7.Implementationofkitchen-wasterecycling(C&C).
8.Introductionofavolume-basedcollectionfeesystem(economicincentive).TheVCFsystemreducedtheaveragedailyMSWamountfromthe3695tonsin1999to2649tonsin2002,resultinginawastereductionrateof28.3%andanincreaseintherecyclingratefrom2.3%to23.0%.4.Thewayforward
3.6.Volume-basedcollectionfee(VCF)system,beguninTaipeiCityinJuly2000
Thevolume-basedcollectionfee(VCF)systembeganoperatinginTaipeiCityinJuly2000.Thissystemman-datedthatwaste-collectionfeesbepaidbycitizens.Thesefeesrepresentapolluter-paysystem.Inthepast,TaipeiCityassessedwaste-collectionfeesbasedonhouseholdwaterusageatarateofNT$4(US$1=NT$32)foreachtonofwaterused.Althoughthissystemwasconvenient,becauseoftheindirectrelationshipbetweenwasteproduc-tionandwaterusage,itwasnotparticularlyfair.More-over,thefeewasnotreducedforthosewhoreducedtheirwaste,soindividualcitizenscouldnotbene tdirectlybyreducingtheamountofwastetheygenerated.Toeliminatethisshortcoming,theTaipeiCitygovernmentintroducedaVCFsystemanddiscontinuedthewater-fee-basedsystemonJuly1,2000.UndertheVCFsystem,citizenspurchaseanEnvironmentalProtectionBureau-authorizedgarbagebagforthedisposalofgeneralwaste.Thesebagsareeasilypurchasedatstoresthroughoutthecity.Penaltiesforthosewhomanufacturepiratedwastebagsincludepossibleprisonsentences.Citizensbene tdirectlybyreducingwasteandrecycling.Recyclablewasteisseparatedfromgeneralwastewhilegeneralwasteisdisposedofinthedesignatedwastebags.Thepriceof1kgpay-by-bag(mass-based)cur-rentlyisNT$0.45(US$1=NT$32)inTaipeiCityÕsVCFsystem.